Bubbers,

You're one now. You are such a big boy. I remember when just a year ago I could hold you with one arm and you were light as a feather. Now it seems I have to hoist you on my hip with my legs far apart to get the perfect stance. You never cease to amaze me.

On your first birthday it dawned on me that this was going to happen every year. You were going to have a party of course, but more significantly you were going to grow up over time. Shocking, I know! I'm not too fond of that idea to be honest. What's it going to be like when you don't run up and down the whole expanse of the house anymore, just to throw yourself on the ground and explode in laughter? What's it going to feel like when giving Mommy kisses isn't going to be a priority? What's it going to look like when you're away at school with your friends and Mommy's not cool anymore? How am I going to pass my evenings when I'm not being squirted in the face with your whale during baths?

These questions are really hard to deal with. But part of having beautiful, successful children is learning to let go and let them grow. So I'm going to let you do just that. These are the things I want for you in this time in your life:

I want you to laugh at everything!
I want you to get frustrated when you can't do something.
I want you to figure it out and be so proud of yourself!
I want you to try every sport, every hobby, every book.
I want you to find what you love and do it as much as possible.
I want you to walk around holding your shirt up to show me that big belly.
I want you to eat all the pb&j and Ritz crackers you can.
Drink from that bottle until you can't no more.
Suck on your binky as long as it makes you happy.
Smile, smile, smile.
Give me kisses every morning, before day care, after I get home from work, throw a couple in before bath time, then give me the biggest one you can right before I lay you down.
Don't you dare stop until it gets uncool!

Really though, just be a baby.

I want you to have everything in life. I never want you to look back and say you regretted a thing. You're Mommy's little boy and I will do everything I can to make sure you are loved more than any other person has ever been loved.

You are my world Oliver,
I love you,

Mommy.

Pneumonia

After a long night at Urgent Care, we found out Oliver has early pneumonia! How sad for my poor little baby!

He's been really sniffley for two weeks with a cough that's gotten progressively worse over time. The last few nights he's had to sleep propped up bc otherwise he would choke all night on his coughs.
Wednesday his day care said he had a fever, which has lasted on and off through yesterday. We measured him at home and he was at 101.6, but by the time we reached the hospital it was at 102.8. This was the first time he'd ever really had a fever before.
The doctor was really nice this time. There's this mean guy we've dealt with in the past, very condescending. Anyway, she ordered Oliver some chest X-rays. And that's how we found out there was stuff in his lungs.
Luckily we caught it early, but it doesn't make it any easier. He has to take antibiotics twice a day for 10 days and they said the bacteria should be all out of his lungs!

Trying to give him 9.6 ml of antibiotics is NOT easy. This morning we were both crying at the end! Wish us good luck over the next few days!

Here's Ollie and Daddy before we went to the ER. He NEVER cuddles like this. For us its the first sign of sickness!

Justin Beiber

Ever heard of him? That tween sensation that's got 11 and 12 year old girls taking down 300 lb security guards at malls across America? Haha. His last name is pronounces 'beeber' and I've been calling Oliver that for some time now. Ever since I heard of this Justin fellow I can't help but to just call Oliver Justin Beiber.

He's gonna hate me for this one day. :]

Playing in his P.J.'s

I haven't taken nearly enough pictures this month. But Ollie's been so sick the last 2 weeks, he just always looks so miserable. I caught him playing yesterday morning though. :]





He's only getting faster, hence they're so blurry. :]

Soccer Time.

I wasn't lying when I said he loved this ball. :]

New Favorite Game...

Cutie Pie!

Not the happiest face ever, but still has those crystal clear blue eyes!

Just like Daddy. Go Boston!


I always said I'd never leave my kid in dirty clothes, but honestly, sometimes I have to! Haha. See all those food stains? Welcome to raising an extremely high energy boy!

Giving Kisses.

I need to get a picture of this!

Oliver gives the BEST kisses. All you have to say is 'daj buzi' or 'kiss' and he leans in, mouth open, then closes his lips when they touch yours. He's reluctant to do it in the middle of the day when he's got stuff going on [i.e. playing, haha] but especially before night night he'll pucker up like no other. And in the morning he's been doing it too bc he understands that he's going to day care and needs to say good bye!


So cuute. :]

Bath Water

Oliver loves to drink his bath water. Kinda gross, not gonna lie!

I first noticed it a few months ago. He would grab the pitcher I use to wash the shampoo out of his hair, fill it up with water, and drink from it like a cup. I'm guessing it was around 10-11 months. Which coincides with when I began offering him drinks from a regular cup.

Now however, he just leans down and takes a breathe, then sucks up water straight from the tub. Then he usually has a long cough and starts laughing.


Oh and this reminds me of how good Oliver is doing with straws! He's a little champ. He does forget to swallow from time to time, so he'll suck in a ton of liquid, take his lips off the straw, and everything comes out all over his shirt! Luckily that's been happening less and less!

Soccer Player.

Oliver loves his soccer ball. It was outside all winter long but every time we went to or from the car he would point and say something. Doesn't really sound like ball, but I think that's what he meant!

We finally reunited him with it today!



And here he is as the captain of his own boat on the playground!


And of course the always needed mommy and daddy pictures.. Always less than thrilled about it. :]



Here's really the only other time we took pictures of him with the soccer ball. June 15th, the first day he sat all by himself with no support. :]


And a little video of some of his great ball handling today!

Tooth #10

Did I mention that it is not 1 molar, but 2 coming in? Let's just say it's been a crazy couple days and all the Motrin and Tylenol in the world hasn't stopped the pain. Poor baby.

Daddy's Shiner...

...courtesy of Oliver. :]

Last Valentine's Post, Promise!

We decided to take a family trip to Snoqualmie Pass today after church. He just looked so cute!

My Little Valentine.

Everyone knows how nostalgic I can be so here are a few pictures from one year ago.

Here is Daddy holding a sleeping Oliver all dressed in his cute Valentine's Day outfit:

Here is Oliver not really liking that head band. Look at that double chin!

And here he is just a few minutes ago, actually not ripping that same head band off:

Mommy's Little Heartbreaker.

We actually got a lot of good shots, though about three times more bad ones!

I posted this on my FB already. Doesn't he look like he just doesn't have enough time for all the ladies chasing after him? Hahaha.

P.S. He will NEVER look directly at the camera. This last one was some sort of fluke and a whole lotta a luck!

Valentine's for Mommy & Daddy

He came home from day care with this:

PRECIOUS!

He's Getting Better.

We bought Ollie this thingy [can't remember its official name] for Xmas. He's had a hard time pushing the little buttons hard enough, but he's getting better.



This was taken today during a break between crying. Bad tooth!

Tooth # 9

This has been a TERRIBLE one.

Two weeks ago he was exhibiting his usual teething signs. For a week straight he was just suffering with excessive drool, diarrhea, slight fever, swollen gums, etc, etc! Then, poof, it just stopped. I thought that was unusual for Ollie but hey, what did I spot today?

Part of his molar is sticking out. There's a HUGE white spot in the shape of the rest of the tooth and I'm praying it comes out with minimal pain!

It's unfortunate that the tooth had to coincide with the beginning of day care. The Director told us to look out for runny noses and such for at least the first 2 weeks while he builds up immunity. He started with lots of boogers and a wavery voice. Then last night he woke up every half hour. I'm not joking when I say EVERY half hour! I did not look forward to working an 8 hour shift this a.m. His teacher said he was a lot more whiny today and his forehead was hot hot hot.

Now it all makes sense! he's not super sick. He's just got a runny nose and a molar coming in. That combo is easy to handle. THANK GOODNESS!

Being a Mommy or Daddy is essentially being an expert diagnostician.
You can call me Dr. House, THANKS!

Happy Valentine's Day

Haha, I get to revert to the old days of elementary school! Oliver's day care class, whom by the way are called the 'Cozy Kittens', are having a V-Day party tomorrow and Miss Stephanie gave all the parents a list of all the toddlers in case they wanted to make cards, etc. Um, I am the holiday Nazi, so OF COURSE I was going to do something. I wish they were old enough for cupcakes bc I totally would have made some!



Oh and I had to get Hot Wheels since Daddy has quite the collection, still in boxes.

He Appreciated Pegasus On Alki!

Dreaded Day Care!

Monday was Oliver's first day. All I have to say is that he is a trooper! The first day I dropped him off and he didn't even cry when I left!

Myself, on the other hand, did not handle it quite as well. That Monday was traitorous! I had orientation that day for my AMAZING new job. I call it my 'big girl' job. :] So I left to drop Oliver off and thought I'd be fine. As I am literally turning into the parking lot, my waterworks began. I tried to compose myself before I took him inside but it wasn't happening. The entire time I spoke with his teacher about any special needs, etc, I was sobbing. Let's just say I got to orientation very puffy eyed! It didn't help when the Highline Medical Center CEO came to speak to us and brought up his son! More tears! Then a rep from the Childbirth Center came. MORE tears! I hid them well, but it was very tough.

Enough about me though! I have gotten nothing but positive feed back about his time in care. The last few days he has cried when I've left him but his teacher says he stops shortly after and is a great kid the rest of the time. They have so many activities and a playground outside. They do grouptime, sensory learning, singing, art, etc! I think as much as I want to be with him every second, I can't provide as much learning for him. I don't have tons of money for Gymboree, etc. I truly think day care is great for our family. Oliver is learning and developing and socializing and Mommy gets to get her career up and running.

He's a lot more talkative as well now. He points at EVERYTHING and makes these funny half words.. I can't wait until he actually says real things. [I'm gonna kick myself for that comment in a few months, I know it!]

He's totally weaned off the bottle too!!! Day care was vital in that. Before he started we had gotten him about 60% weaned, but I suppose the rapid change in routine geared him towards a smooth, almost forced weaning.

There's so much more cool stuff to mention, but I don't want to write a book. For now I'm just happy that we got over the day care hurdle and Oliver is happy. I was very worried about him having a hard time, but my kid has always adapted quite well so I am very pleased I have one less thing to stress over.

Gotta Have Vans!

Our family is big on shoes. I don't know why. Ha. But we did buy Ollie a new pair since his little toes were getting scrunched in his Converse. We upgraded to size 5's. I must admit they're still a bit big and will randomly fall off but I think overall he's happier in them.

I had to put up this picture for comparison. We bought him the soft soled ones for our wedding. [They ended up still being too big] They state they're a size 4 but soft soled and hard soled run so different so they are quite a bit smaller than hard soled size 4's!

Here he is munching on a Ritz in his cool new sunglasses. [How cute are they by the way?]

I did catch him busting a move to someone playing piano in the background. He's so silly!

Never a Dull Moment

This is what attempting to get a precious daddy, baby photo looks like.
Air kiss!

Mommy and Son

Every moment I have with this little boy, I cherish. Especially now with my full time "big girl" job and day care looming, I'm feeling the heat. Though I have been extremely lucky to have been able to keep him out of day care for 13 months, I feel like that hasn't been enough!

Silly moments like these are my favorite. :]






I HONESTLY don't think I've EVER said this but,

I LOVE THIS BOY MORE THAN ANYTHING!

Stacking

Oliver has really taken to stacking objects. He's getting really good at blocks. He was really shaky at first, but now he's definitely more coordinated!


Here he is playing with Daddy.



Here is Oliver's idea of a BETTER time stacking. Forget the blocks, let's stack what's in the cupboards! Preferably tuna and perhaps some Ramen on top! Silly boy!

Here's the whole process.

13 Months!

Literally the best picture of the day. He will not hold still for a picture!

So here's one from a few days ago that's a better face shot!

And for nostalgia purposes, some from exactly one year ago, when our Bubba was 1 whole month:

Forgot the Stroller

and this is what we did:




He blends in with it. Ha. But he had a good time in it.

Hahaha.

This is Oliver eating Spaghetti.
He's got this vacuum thing going.
But then it always comes up.
I have this longer video that wouldn't upload where we does some crazy things, but this sums it all up well. :]

Riding with Elmo.

Can't wait to actually take this outside!
Spring is how many months away?



P.S. It has cup holders. Just sayin...